The Beautiful South Languedoc - Roussillon The Beautiful South - Languedoc-Roussillon

The Vinisud trade fair takes place in every two years, and François Dupont and I made our way there for this year’s buying trip. The Parc des Expositions is a rambling complex of halls and Vinisud took up nine of them; space in at least five was given over to producers from Languedoc and Roussillon. In addition, there were significant contingents from Provence, the Rhône and South West , along with a growing number of exhibitors travelling from Spain and Italy. With the organizers claiming to represent an area producing some 50% of current world wine production, and with over 1600 exhibitors we had to plan our time with military precision in order to meet up with all our current suppliers yet still have time to look at what else was available.

Following several fairly straightforward good to excellent vintages, 2011 was clearly a significant challenge for many in Languedoc- Roussillon. In common with much of the rest of Europe the seasons appeared to unfold in the wrong order, with sunny dry weather early in the year, but unusually low temperatures along with heavy rain and sometimes even hail during the summer months. For many, matters improved as fine weather returned towards the end of the growing season, though Pierre Fontaneil remarked that fierce heat during the harvest created further problems. Picking at Domaine Fontanel took place early in the morning, finishing by 11am in order that the fruit could be delivered to the cellar still relatively cool.

Over the course of our time at the fair it became clear that the growers listed here stand comparison with any in the region. Though we tasted and talked with the well known and long established, with relative new-comers, with large negociants and co-ops, and with tiny artisans we kept referring back to our existing suppliers for their rapport qualité prix. The flavours, complexity and balance, indeed the sheer drinkability of the wines they produce is reassurance of the importance of the choices made during Stone, Vine & Sun’s formative years. We have been buying from La Croix Belle, La Grave and Fontanel since 2003, while Mas des Brousses, Domaines Vic, Météore and Grand Arc appeared in 2004.

Looking over this year’s list, and attempting to pick the highlights from our scribbled notes of a hectic two days in February, I feel that so many of our favourite producers and favourite wines are here. From the simplicity of wines such as Caringole and Tristan & Julien, through the terroir driven pleasures of Clauzes de Jo, Clos de Bijou, Cuvée des and others, I feel that it is worth repeating a comment from the introduction to our 2005 Beautiful South list, “if you bought from just one of our offers each year you should choose this one”.

Gordon Coates - March 2012 Mixed Cases

BS112 The Beautiful South BS312 Med Reds (4 whites, 1 rosé and 7 reds) £95.50 (Six reds) £93.95

Here is your chance to taste one bottle of each of the twelve 2010 Comtesse de Marion, Merlot (p.4) wines listed below, making up a sampler case discounted by 2010 Domaine La Croix Belle, Le Champ du Coq (p.5) over 10%. This will introduce you to some of our favourites, and 2010 La Grave, Minervois Rouge, Tristan et Julien (p.5) encourage you to come back and buy more of them. 2009 Belles Pierres, St. Georges d’Orques, Les Clauzes de Jo Rouge (p.6) 2010 Preignes, Vermentino (p.4) 2009 Terres Falmet, Cinsault, Vin de France (p.9) 2010 Croix Belle, Le Champ des Lys (p.5) 2010 Fontanel, Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes (p.11) 2010 Creyssels, Picpoul de Pinet (p.5) 2010 Begude, Chardonnay, Amélie (p.10) 2011 Preignes, Grenache Rosé (p.4) BS412 L-R Terroirs 2010 Comtesse de Marion, Merlot (p.4) (three whites and three reds) £119.50 2010 La Grave, Minervois Rouge, Tristan et Julien (p.5) 2009 Belles Pierres, St. Georges d’Orques, 2010 Belles Pierres, Coteaux du Languedoc, Les Clauzes de Jo Rouge (p.6) Les Clauzes de Jo Blanc (p.6) 2010 Mas des Brousses, Chasseur des Brousses (p.7) 2011 Météore, Faugères Blanc, Les Léonides (p.8) 2008 Météore, Faugères Rouge, Les Orionides (p.9) 2010 Fontanel, Côtes du Roussillon Blanc (p.11) 2010 Grand Arc, Corbières Rouge, Reserve (p.10) 2007 Terres Falmet, Saint-Chinian, L’Ivresse des Cîmes (p.9) 2010 Fontanel, Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes (p.11) 2009 Grand Arc, Corbières Rouge, Cuvée des Quarante (p.10) The following mixed cases include two bottles of each of the six 2009 Fontanel, Côtes du Roussillon Rouge (p.11) wines listed, with a discount of at least 7.5%. BS512 Grand Reds of the Hills BS212 Plains Vins (Six reds) £150.00 (three whites and three reds) £79.25 2007 Saint Daumary, Pic Saint Loup, Belladonna (p. 6) 2010 Mas de Canal Blanc, IGP Pays d’Oc (p.3) 2009 Mas des Brousses, Coteaux du Languedoc, 2011 Croix Belle, Caringole Blanc, IGP Côtes de Thongue (p.5) Terrasses du Larzac (p.7) 2011 Domaine La Grave, Vin de Pays des Hauts de Badens (p.5) 2007 Trinités, Languedoc, La Deves (p.8) 2011 Mas de Canal Rouge, IGP Pays d’Oc (p.4) 2007 Météore, Faugères Rouge, Les Perséides (p.9) 2009 Les Vignerons Réunis, Carignan, Vieilles Vignes, IGP (p.4) 2010 Grand Arc, Corbières, En Sol Majeure (p.10) 2011 Croix Belle, Caringole Rouge, IGP Côtes de Thongue (p.5) 2009 Depeyre, Côtes du Roussillon Villages (p.11)

2 We will be holding two tastings of a selection of wines from this list, with the support of the Maison de la Région Languedoc- Roussillon, as follows: Hampshire: Wednesday April 18th, 6.00-8.30pm - Stockbridge Town Hall, High Street, Stockbridge, SO20 6HE Please let us know if you would like to attend, and bring guests. London: Tuesday May 1st, 6.00-8.30 pm - Maison de la Région Languedoc-Roussillon, 6 Cavendish Square, London W1G 0PD Individual invitations will not be sent out, so do contact us if you would like to attend, and bring guests.

Wines of the Plains: Vins de Pays / Indication Géographique Protégée

Last year we wrote “Vin de Pays is no more”, but it seems we were somewhat premature. A Europe wide initiative to rename such wines instead as Indication Géographique Protégée (IGP) is being implemented in some regions and by some producers in a rather relaxed manner, so currently both systems co-exist (sometimes on the same bottle). The same freedom survives - to choose whatever grape variety you wish to grow; and, more importantly, to name wines by grape variety - and also the same proliferation of names on the bottle. It is, therefore, still difficult to get to grips with this system, as growers can name their wines in any one of three ways: from either a very narrowly defined local IGP; or IGP of their local department; or IGP Pays d’Oc, wine from anywhere in a huge region. So the Vic’s Reserve Blanc, listed on page 3, from near Vias, could be labelled either as it is, IGP Coteaux de Libran; or IGP de l’Hérault; or IGP Pays d’Oc.

We offer IGPs in a number of guises and from a variety of sources. Whilst appellation wines tend to be blends of approved local grape varieties, IGPs are often pure single varietals, from Viognier and Vermentino to Merlot, Cinsaut, Carignan and even Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Secondly, they can be blends which include non-local varieties - such as the Merlot in the Chasseur des Brousses, or the Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay in several of the whites.

As for quality, IGPs can range from simple unpretentious, wines, such as the Mas de Canal wines from the Vic family below, via really well-made wines from good land crafted by estates specialising in their production, devoting as much care and attention to their wines as any appellation wine - those from Croix Belle come into this category; thirdly, there are splendid Vin de Pays made by top growers alongside their appellation wines, such as the excellent wine from Domaine Fontanel on page 11.

The new rules are also being applied to wines of Appellation d’Origine Controllée (AC or AOC), and as a result we are beginning to see bottles labelled Appellation d’Origine Protégée (AOP).

Domaines Vic, Preignes Le Vieux on the label, although the vineyards are quite far-flung around Beziers. Several of the whites are based on Vermentino (known as Rolle in Provence, where it tends to be expensive!), also The Vic family - Jérome, Robert, Bruno, brothers, cousins grown in Corsica and northern Italy, a grape which thrives in etc. - have pooled their land, making them one of the largest the heat of the Mediterranean, retaining its freshness and giving landowners in the Languedoc, and collectively make their wines considerable weight. This year we introduce a Grenache rosé in a hamlet at Preignes near Beziers, ranged round an enormous under the Preignes label; a stand-out wine at this year’s Vinisud courtyard. Yet it is still very much a family-owned estate, and which will brighten your outlook whatever the weather. every wine comes with some variant of the Vic or Preignes name

2010 Mas de Canal, Blanc, IGP Pays d’Oc, 12.5° [Screw-cap] Contents Bottle £6.25 Case £71.25 Code VIC710 Page 3-5 Wines of the Plains: Vins de Pays / IGP- Domaines Based on Vermentino and Chardonnay, with other varieties. Vic, Alain Grignon & La Croix Belle: plus Picpoul de Citrus and lightly floral aroma. Fresh, easy drinking mouthful Pinet - Creyssels; and Minervois - Château La Grave showing stone fruit, nice weight and zesty acidity. The 2011 vintage will follow. Drink this year 6 Around Montpellier: St. Georges d’Orques - Domaine Belles Pierres; and Pic St. Loup - St. Daumary 2011 Preignes Le Vieux, Reserve Blanc, IGP 7 Terrasses du Larzac - Mas des Brousses Coteaux du Libron, 12.5° 8-9 Pézenas, Faugères and Saint Chinian - Domaines Trinités, Météore & Terres Falmet Bottle £7.50 Case £85.50 Code PRF811 10 Corbières - Domaine Grand Arc; and Limoux - The Reserve white is really worth trading up to; a perfumed and Domaine Begude elegant wine again based on Vermentino, with other varieties 11-12 Roussillon: Domaines Depeyre, Fontanel & including a dash of aromatic Viognier and Muscat. Such an Traginer open and attractive scent. Lively, enticing gush of lime, pear and melon, with a hint of jasmine. Medium bodied, and finishes well too. Now-2013

3 2010 Preignes, Vermentino, IGP Pays d’Oc, 13° 2011 Mas de Canal, Rouge, IGP Pays d’Oc, 12.5° Bottle £8.25 Case £94.05 Code PRF710 [Screw-cap] From vines now about 25 years old; and left on its lees for a Bottle £6.50 Case £74.10 Code VIC411 few months to develop weight and fl avour. Lightly fl oral Largely from Grenache, with Merlot, Cinsaut and a little aromas, with cream and a hint of pine. Not a fruit wine, Cabernet Sauvignon, This simple wine has become so but rather Italianate in its layers of texture and understated much more polished in recent vintages. Bramble fruited herbiness. Smooth and balanced. The 2011 vintage will but with a lighter, raspberry accent too. Creamy, with a follow. Drink this year hint of tannin; a smooth easy-drinking style. Now-2013

2011 La Petite Source, Le Clos, Viognier, IGP 2010 Comtesse de Marion, Merlot, IGP Pays Pays d’Oc, 13° [Screw-cap] d’Oc, 13° [Screw-cap] Bottle £9.50 Case £108.30 Code VIC611 Bottle £6.95 Case £79.23 Code VIC310 A fresh unoaked style of Viognier. Rich aromas, This vintage has won huge praise from many satisfi ed evocative of the Mediterranean. Lively but with customers: Merlot has become mildly unfashionable, attractive weight, with citrussy fruit and a pretty but forget that prejudice and just enjoy this easy- apricot element. A perfect aperitif, or try with drinking and underrated grape. A wine which shows seafood. Now-2013 attractive typicity: aromas of sweet plum with a leafy touch, followed by a supple and lightly creamy, 2011 Mas de Canal, Rosé, IGP Pays berried palate with barely discernible tannins. d’Oc, 12.5° [Screw-cap] Now-2013 Bottle £6.50 Case £74.10 Code VIC511 2010 Les Hauts de Median, Petit Verdot, From Grenache and Cinsaut, crafted in the Provençale style. Pale salmon pink. Light scent IGP Pays d’Oc, 13° of wild raspberries. A refreshing mouthful of Bottle £7.75 Case £88.35 Code VIC210 strawberry and cranberry fruit, with a crisp fi nish. This wine is crafted by Aurélie Trébuchon, Jérome Nothing complicated, just a well-made, dry rosé Vic’s wife, and it combines the excellent value perfect for regular consumption. Now-2013 characteristic of the clan’s wines with more sophisticated winemaking than most. Petit Verdot 2011 Preignes, Grenache Rosé, IGP Pays ripens late even in the Languedoc: the grapes for d’Oc, 12.5° this wine were harvested as late as the 10-12th Bottle £8.50 Case £96.90 Code PRF511 October. Deeply hued. The nose is exciting: with deliciously ripe fruit, mildly roasted, it smells like a much Star-bright very pale salmon pink. A joyous nose redolent of more expensive wine. The palate lives up to that promise too, summer pudding, with very ripe red currants and raspberries offering super-smooth layers of red and black fruits, a hint of marking the palate. Assured weight and texture: a delight. herbs and subtle tannins. A terrifi c fi nish too. Now-2013 Now-2013 Alain Grignon Wines, Carcassonne Alain Grignon is a colourful character who, despairing of the unwillingness of the Languedoc co-operatives to build successful Wine boxes brands for export, decided to go it alone. Now he sources juice 5 litre boxes (the equivalent of 6 2/3 bottles), each with from all over the region, and puts his own team of winemakers its own simple tap: perfect for parties, barbecues, cooking to work in a couple of major co-operatives to craft terrifi c value wine, or just keeping in the kitchen for the odd glass (many wines for export. This old vine Carignan, from vines averaging people fi nd them indispensable to the good working of a about 40 years old, has become a big favourite here: who would refrigerator). They last well over a month. have thought that we would have sold pallets of wine made from Carignan, that much maligned grape? This skilfully balances the Both come from the Vic family, and the wine is the same vibrant fruit and acidity of the grape with subtle oaking and a wine as in the Mas de Canal bottles. hint of juicy sweetness. Note: a box can be included in a mixed case in place of 4 bottles 2011 Les Vignerons Réunis, Carignan Vieilles Vignes, IGP Pays d’Hérault, 12.5° [Screw-cap] 2010 Le Petit Pont Blanc, Bottle £6.75 Case £76.95 Code AGW610 IGP Pays d’Oc, 12.5° Flagrant purple. Delicious gush of ripe black cherries and 5 litre bag in box £33.95 Code BIB610 blackberries. Vibrantly fruity. So winning, supple enough to be Drink this year. enjoyed on its own yet with plenty of texture too. Perfect for parties. Now-2014 2010 Le Petit Pont, Rouge, IGP Pay d’Oc, 12.5° Domaine La Croix Belle, 5 litre bag in box £33.95 Code BIB210 La Croix Belle is acknowledged in numerous guides and journals as a benchmark estate for IGP wines. Whilst we do not ship their Drink this year. top wines (we are not sure the British market is ready for £15 Côtes de Thongue!), we admire the efforts made by the Boyer

4 family and their team to craft excellent blends at any price level. Julie Benau’s vineyards are on clay and gravel soils, which lend Interestingly, when the vignerons in the Côtes de Thongue were greater weight than the sandier fields nearer the sea, set amidst offered the chance to have their own appellation some years woods of pines and cypresses. She crops at low yields, around ago they spurned it, preferring the freedom to make wine from 40hl/ha., picks very late - well into September - and leaves the whichever grapes they liked. wine on its lees. This care produces a wine with considerable concentration and character, which has become a real favourite We continue to offer the Caringole wines: a white Chardonnay- here. based blend, lifted by about 20% of sprightly Sauvignon Blanc and a little Muscat and Viognier; and a red, largely from Syrah, Merlot and Carignan, with some of the wine made using carbonic 2010 Languedoc, Picpoul de Pinet, 12.5° maceration, giving a Beaujolais-like freshness. Of the superior Bottle £7.95 Case £90.63 Code CRE110 wines, using grapes which would qualify them for appellation status in most of the Languedoc, we offer a white, Le Champ des Green-tinged. Light scent of flowers. Bright fruit - kiwi and Lys, from Grenache Blanc and Viognier with some Chardonnay, lime - but as usual with a mildly herbal note. Does it show the and the Syrah/Grenache blend, Le Champ du Coq. merest hint of salt in this vintage? It is possible given the estate’s proximity to the sea. As appealing as an aperitif as with shell- fish. Drink this year. 2011 Caringole Blanc, Chardonnay-Sauvignon Blanc, IGP Côtes de Thongue, 13° Château La Grave, Badens, Minervois Bottle £7.95 Case £90.63 Code CRO811 Owned by the Orosquette family, and named after the gravelly Based on Chardonnay lifted by zippy, fresh aromatic varieties, soil on the Etang de Marseillette, Château La Grave lies in the this blend makes perfect sense in the warm south. Scent of ripe south-western part of the Minervois, now known as Les Balcons pear with floral notes. There’s enough ripe melon and citrus de l’Aude. This year the white Vin de Pays impressed, another fruit here to give this wine a real depth of flavour and length. take on the blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc with Now-2013 local varieties. The unusual Expression white is based (80%) on a parcel of old vine Maccabeu, with Vermentino and Marsanne, 2010 Le Champ des Lys, IGP Côtes de Thongue, which makes for a surprisingly weighty wine at the price. Their 13.5° Expression rosé, made largely from Syrah with Grenache, is always a real charmer, and is our best-selling rosé year after Bottle £8.95 Case £102.03 Code CRO710 year. Tristan et Julien, named after a son and cousin here, is from A mildly toasty, spicy note on the nose (a tiny proportion goes about half and half Syrah and Grenache. into barrel) is followed by intense grapefruit, with texture, and subtle notes of grape seeds and almonds. This makes a wonderful 2011 Domaine La Grave, Vin de Pays des Hauts de aperitif, but is perhaps most at home accompanying simply Badens, 12° cooked pork or chicken. Now-2013 Bottle £7.50 Case £85.50 Code GRV811 2011 Caringole Rouge, Syrah-Merlot-Carignan, Lively, bright scented nose. Bags of ripe fruit character, with IGP Côtes de Thongue, 13.5° lemon zest and a note of something more tropical. Rounded and easy drinking. Finishes clean and dry. Now-2013 Bottle £7.95 Case £90.63 Code CRO111 Attractively open and inviting aromas. Such a vital mouthful, 2010 Minervois Blanc, Expression, 13° with generous cherry and plum fruit, ripe and balanced, backed by the merest smidge of tannin. A versatile wine which is easy to Bottle £7.95 Case £90.63 Code GRV610 drink on its own or with food. Now-2013 Scent of herbs - almost Vermouth-like. As ever, textured and quite concentrated, with nectarine, pineapple and ripe pear with 2010 Le Champ du Coq, IGP Côtes de Thongue, almond nuances. Lively finish. A bargain which deserves to be 13.5° better known. The 2011 follows. Now-2013 Bottle £8.95 Case £102.03 Code CRO310 2011 Minervois Rosé, Expression, 13° Well judged use of oak gives a classy sheen to the cassis fruit on Bottle £7.95 Case £90.63 Code GRV411 the nose. A generous heart of ripe dark cherry, with spicy depth, finishing well. As ever this has a somewhat New World style, but This unfailingly delivers splendid ripeness and intensity. Bright shows a tad more restraint than in previous vintages. Now-2014 pink. Lifted red fruit aromas. Oodles of strawberry and red cherries, plus a herbal nuance. Plenty of texture. Perfect all rounder, fruity enough to enjoy on its own but also dry enough Domaine de Creyssels, Mèze for food. Winner of a Gold Medal at this year’s Concours Général Agricole Paris. Now-2013 Picpoul de Pinet is a little known appellation near the Bassin de Thau, south-west of Montpellier, for just a single grape, the white Piquepoul. The grape has the advantage of being slow-ripening: 2010 Minervois Rouge, Tristan et Julien, 13° picked after the heat of summer has passed it retains freshness Bottle £7.75 Case £88.35 Code GRV110 and flavour. The wine is the traditional accompaniment to the oysters from the local beds in the Bassin de Thau near Sète - and Just so open, simple and enjoyable, the sort of youthful French not just in the south but in smart Paris bistros too. In the old country wine of old. Vibrant purple. A ripe scent of crushed Occitan tongue Picpoul means “lip-stinger”, due to the grape’s blackberries and blackcurrants prefaces a joyous gush of natural acidity, but this wine is a lot friendlier than that! Look on refreshing, juicy fruits, with the merest hint of supporting tannins. it as the Muscadet of the Mediterranean, albeit with more heft That attractive black fruit returns on the finish. A transparently and flavour. honest wine. Now-2013

5 Montpellier

We move into the hills with two appellations near Montpellier: St. Georges d’Orques is a superb argilo-calcaire micro-terroir lying across rolling slopes (up to 235m) within sight of the sea just to the west of Montpellier, with vineyards in little patches cut out of the garrigue; and Pic Saint Loup, a mountainous appellation north of Montpellier, cooled by wind and some altitude, and offering calcareous soils long known as excellent for Syrah.

Domaine Belles Pierres, St. Murviel Voilà Le Printemps (“here comes the spring”) is about 60% Syrah, 30% Carignan and 10% Grenache, unoaked, and les Montpellier, St. Georges to be enjoyed early for its smooth black fruit. Belladonna is almost all Carignan, from one parcel of low-yielding d’Orques 45-50 year old vines, given 12 months in old oak barrels, Damien Coste and his father created Belles Pierres and as deliciously silky and refi ned as his other reds. (literally “beautiful stones”) in the hill-top village of Julien bottled just 1200 bottles of this for the fi rst time, St-Murviel, near St. Georges d’Orques, in 1992, having and we have taken as much as we have been allowed. taken their land out of the local co-op. Here the grape skins take on the evanescent oils of the surrounding 2008 Pic Saint-Loup, Voilà Le Printemps, fl owers and herbs - lavender, oregano, thyme and 14° bay - giving fascinating Mediterranean nuances to the wines. You only have to smell these wines to be Bottle £9.95 Case £113.43 Code DAU108 transported there! Characteristic developed, clove and bacon fat The two wines are named in homage to Damien’s nose. Spicy red and black fruit dominate the palate, father, Joseph (a “clauze” is a short stone wall raspberries and dark cherries, allied to a certain enclosing the fi elds). The strikingly unusual and meatiness. Plenty of mildly savoury character. distinctive oaked white is from 60% Roussanne Drink this year with equal proportions of Viognier and Grenache; a big, wildly perfumed wine which can accompany 2007 Pic Saint-Loup, Belladonna, strongly fl avoured food. The red, 50% Syrah, 30% 14° Grenache with 20% Carignan, is a wine which shows that elusive scent and fl avour of thegarrigue , Bottle £13.25 Case £151.05 Code DAU207 and develops earthy complexity with a year or two Deliciously red-fruited, without any of that animal in bottle. edge so often present in Carignan. Thrilling on the palate, a sort of vinous Fry’s Turkish delight, 2010 Coteaux du Languedoc, all perfumed, jellied fruit wrapped in chocolate, Les Clauzes de Jo Blanc, 14° freshened by the variety’s lively acidity. Unusual and splendid. “Intriguing, well developed and well Bottle £11.75 Case £133.95 Code BEL610 balanced nose. Sweet and refi ned and with real lift. Bright lemon tinged with green. Such inviting aromas: subtle Very complete. Yet it seems to have potential too. Persistent vanilla, exotic fruit - pineapple and peach - plus hints of cream and spicy. 17/20”, Jancis Robinson MW on the Purple Pages of and honey. Totally consistent on the palate, with the full- www.jancisrobinson.com, 3rd June 2010. Now-2013 Limited fl avoured exoticism of the fruit counterbalanced by delicate stock notes of aniseed. Now-2014

2009 Coteaux du Languedoc, St. Georges d’Orques, Les Clauzes de Jo Rouge, 14° Bottle £11.25 Case £128.25 Code BEL309 Really ripe, almost jellied perfume, alongside hints of bay and oregano. Blueberry, blackberry and black cherry palate with wild herbal depth, and plenty of fl esh and grip. Superbly vital, and will keep too. Now-2014 Saint Daumary, Valfl aunès, Pic Saint Loup Julien Chapel’s vineyards lie mainly on the fl anks of the plateau of Hortus, just to the north of the 685 metre peak of Pic Saint Loup. Many of his little plots are scraped out of the garrigue, the surrounding scrub, on mainly limestone rich soils which suit Syrah, although there is also Grenache on the sandier sites and he has planted Mourvèdre in his hottest corners. We have really found a star in this modest and amiable young man, who took over part of his father’s land at the age of 19 in 1999 (and was then the youngest winemaker in the whole of the Languedoc) and converted to organic cultivation - he believes organics delivers better “transmission de terroir”.

6 Terrasses du Larzac

This zone covers a wide range of terroirs in the north of the Coteaux du Languedoc, abutting the Larzac plateau. This is largely a hilly band running from St Jean de la Blaquière in the west, across via St. Saturnin and Montpeyroux to Puéchabon in the east. Andrew Jefford, a cerebral wine critic, called the Terrasses du Larzac “some of the greatest vineyard land in the south of France” (Financial Times, 8th August 2009).

Mas des Brousses, Puéchabon, ripe - the fruit just attractively cooked. Juicy, with well integrated tannin structure. Pleasantly long. This always Terrasses du Larzac offers smooth and classy drinking, so food-friendly. “I was bowled over by the quality of this magnifi cent, fat, Brousses translates as bush, or brush; this is, literally, the ripe, juicy Merlot, topped up with grenache and a touch farm in the brush. Amidst the rolling scrub-covered hills of cinsaut, seductively scented with Christmas spice”, around Puéchabon and the pebble-strewn terrasses near Jane Macquitty, 50 best red wines for Christmas, The the Hérault river lie the domaine’s plots of vines. Tall Times, Saturday, December 10th, 2011Now-2013 Géraldine Combes (from a family who have inhabited Puéchabon, near Gignac, since 1525) juggles looking after three small boys with tending the vines. Husband 2009 Coteaux du Languedoc, Terrasses Xavier Peyraud, grandson of the legendary Lucien du Larzac, 14.5° Peyraud of Domaine Tempier, is the winemaker. Their fi rst vintage was only 1997, and some of their Bottle £14.75 Case £168.15 Code MAB209 grapes still go off to the local co-operative. Chasseur is an old favourite here, named after the Very deep hue. Excitingly complex aromas: cool African bee-eater (= chasseur) which can be seen black fruit, spiked by coffee, liquorice and nutmeg. over the vines in summer. The blend is about 60% Very refi ned palate, damson and blackcurrant Merlot with Grenache and a little Cinsaut, a wine compôte with vanilla. Very supple. Sustained with Bordelais style from the garrigue, the herby fi nish, with liqueur aromatics. Now-2015 Limited scrub which surrounds the vineyards here. Their stock appellation wine is a blend of about half and half Syrah and Mourvèdre, aged largely in old oak: this always seems to show some of the fragrance of the 2010 Coteaux du Languedoc, Terrasses land, fresh and pine-scented. du Larzac, 14.5°

Bottle £15.50 Case £176.70 Code MAB210 2010 Chasseur des Brousses, IGP Pays d’Oc, 13° Dense black purple. A generous nose of rich Bottle £9.25 Case £105.45 Code MAB110 fruit cake, and mocha spice. At once awesomely concentrated, yet elegantly balanced. A real “melange Soft deep ruby. Such a consistent nose on this wine: it always des fruits noirs” with spicy depth and velvet texture. Long and smells of black fruit lifted with herbs. Black plum and berries, very on the way up. Now-2016

7 Pézenas, Faugères and Saint Chinian in 2010 Pézenas (a pretty town, but not previously that well-known for its wine), was designated as one of the new “Grand Crus” of the Languedoc, along with appellations such as Terrasses du Larzac and Pic Saint Loup. This was justifi ed by only including a very careful selection of the Pézenas vineyards, largely on the hills: Simon Coulshaw at Domaine des Trinités said six people crawled over his land to approve it. Bizarrely, and unfairly, Faugères, a small and very homogenous appellation - only 2,000 hectares in production, and 35 growers, almost all of a very high standard - didn’t make the cut for the new “Grand Cru” list. Part of Saint Chinian did, in the north, around . What unites Faugères and that northern sector is that all the vineyards lie on soils of degraded schist. Schist is formed of foliated sedimentary layers changed by heat and pressure. Its common distinguishing feature, like slate, is that it splits easily into thin fl akes or slabs, so the vineyards look as though they are covered in shards of rock; which can range in colour from soft pinky-beige in Faugères to coal-black near Maury in Roussillon. It is hard to see how vines can survive on such a sterile matrix: they do so through their roots penetrating deep into the fi ssures in the rock to fi nd moisture and nutrients during the long dry summers. Schist wines are very distinctive: do try Trinités Faugères Le Portail or Météore’s Saint Chinian, Clos de Bijou for these unique aromas and fl avours. Saint Chinian also has vineyards on limestone, classic “argilo-calcaire” soils such as those at Terres Falmet; and on river terraces in the south too.

Domaine des Trinités, , Domaine du Météore, , Faugères Faugères Simon Coulshaw, an Englishman brought up in the wine Domaine du Météore (named after the huge crater of a culture of France (but trained in winemaking at Plumpton meteor which punctuates the vineyards) lies in the north College in Sussex) looked at over 100 estates before these of the Faugères appellation, where the vineyards go up to 24 hectares of hillside vines called to him in 2006. His land 350m: here breezes offer fresher temperatures and Syrah stretches from yellow schist vineyards within the newly thrives. We have again bought all we were offered of the created Grand Cru of Pézenas, to vines in Faugères, on domaine’s powerful (and rationed) white, and continue the plateau at 300 metres above his little cellar in the with their crisp and elegant rosé. The four reds really tiny village of Roquessels. With Monica, his Spanish are superb. To start, we have only the second vintage of wife, and a child, he is now putting down roots, and their Saint-Chinian (50% Syrah, 35% Grenache, and was delighted when Le Portail (see below) won the 15% Carignan), from vines right up against the plateau trophy for the best entry-level (i.e. unoaked) Faugères just over the appellation border in Sainte Nazaire de in the appellation at a local blind tasting in summer Ladarez. Unoaked, this is so expressive of the schist, 2010, judged by oenologues and journalists. with high-toned fruit and exciting minerality. Les Léonides Rouge is an unoaked blend of more or 2007 Languedoc, 14° less equal parts of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Carignan. We can really strongly recommend that Bottle £8.50 Case £96.90 Code TRI107 old favourite here, Les Orionides, based on 50% If this was a more recent vintage it would be Syrah with 30% Mourvèdre and 20% Grenache, a permitted to have the name Pézenas on the label. well-oaked wine really impressive again in the 2008 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 10% Carignan, vintage. Finally we have Les Perséides, from equal unoaked. This is charming, offering the gaminess halves of Syrah and Mourvèdre, aged 18 months in and suppleness of maturity. Cooked red fruits, just a barriques. smudge of tannins, and a scented fi nish. Tim Atkin, MW praised this wine as: “full-bodied and supple.... 2011 Faugères Blanc, Les Léonides, 13.5° a lovely warmth of spiced red berries and wild herbs. 91/100”. Drink this year Bottle £10.50 Case £119.70 Code MET711 A blend of half Roussanne, half Marsanne. Lovely fresh scents: 2009 Faugères Rouge, Le Portail, 14° citrus fruit, ripe pear, and a hint of ginger. Convincingly weighty yet also lively, with an intriguingly rich palate of stone fruits and Bottle £9.25 Case £105.45 Code TRI309 cream. Powerful and long. Now-2014 60% Syrah, 30% Grenache, and 10% Mourvèdre, unoaked. A nose of red and black fruits, developing complexity. Pure and 2011 Faugères Rosé, Les Léonides, 13.5° light on the palate, with vivacious raspberries and cherries dancing on top of a fi ne minerality. Very mellow tannins. So Bottle £9.75 Case £111.15 Code MET511 graceful. Now-2013 From Cinsaut and Grenache. Lovely salmon pink. Delicately perfumed, Fresh and mineral, with a basket of red fruits, allied 2007 Languedoc, La Deves, 14° to a fi nesse which derives from the schistous soils. This fi nishes dry, with enough stuffi ng to accompany food well. Now-2013 Bottle £11.75 Case £133.95 Code TRI407 As above, this will be labelled Pézenas in the future. 50% 2009 Saint-Chinian, Clos de Bijou, 14° Grenache, 20% each of Syrah and Carignan, and 10% Mourvèdre; with half the Syrah and Mourvèdre given a year Bottle £9.75 Case £111.15 Code MET209 in old barrels. Very ripe - the locals would say “confi t”- scents, Intense and characteristic schist scents: high-toned raspberries very perfumed, with appealingly savoury secondary notes. with sweet spice leap out of the glass. Bright, crunchy red fruit, Gorgeously lush core of warm and velvety cooked fruit, and a with hints of framboise and a twist of pepper. Mineral grip and long and spicy fi nish. Splendid accompaniment to a hearty roast supple tannin support. A worthy follow up to last year’s maiden or casserole. Now-2013 effort. Now-2014

8 2008 Faugères Rouge, Les Léonides, 13.5° Interestingly he chooses not to go organic, as he prefers spraying only twice a year with fungicides against oidium, Bottle £9.75 Case £111.15 Code MET108 rather than spray much more often with the copper and Open ripe scents of spiced fruit. Perhaps less stridently sulphur permitted by organic practice. expressive of its terroir than some vintages, a more generous His Saint-Chinian is a blend of 40% Mourvèdre, 30% and textured style. With its easy entry and attractive depth Grenache and 30% Syrah, unoaked, from vines averaging of cooked hedgerow fruits, this is beguiling. Now-2013 sixty years of age. He calls it L’Ivresse des Cîmes, which is a nice pun: you could translate it literally as drunkenness 2008 Faugères Rouge, Les Orionides, 14° of the peaks, but in French it really means mountain Bottle £11.75 Case £133.95 Code MET308 sickness, suitable as the grapes come from a very steep vineyard near the ridge, on calcareous soils. Open and archetypal on the nose, whilst the palate displays generously silky cooked black fruit with such well integrated structure and mineral depth. 2009 Cinsault, Vin de France, 13.5° A truly winning combination of power and fi nesse. Bottle £7.75 Case £88.35 Code FAL109 Now-2015 A splendidly textured wine from a southern grape usually known for making red-fruited rosé. Here it 2007 Faugères Rouge, Les Perséides, delivers a deep hue, scents of raspberry jelly, and 13.5° a supple, perfumed palate, all ripe red berries with Bottle £15.50 Case £176.70 Code MET407 rhubarb, clove and cinnamon. Soft enough to enjoy on its own, yet with enough stuffi ng to accompany There is so much going on in this wine: from the food as well. Now-2013 explosive vanilla and cassis nose, through a whole gamut of dark fruits with such a confi dent interplay 2009 Carignan, Vin de France, 13.5° of spice, vanilla, garrigue and baked earth. Drinking so well, but promising further rewarding Bottle £8.50 Case £96.90 Code FAL209 development. Now-2016 From vines with an average 70 years of age. Brambly and mildly porty scents. Concentrated and smooth, Domaine des Terres Falmet, with suave tannins, but also exemplifying Carignan’s characteristic untamed gush of sharpish redcurrants and Creissan, Saint-Chinian black pepper. Enjoyable now and will develop well. Now-2013 Yves Falmet is a fi rst generation vigneron. He has created his Limited stock own wine estate the hard way: having studied bio-chemistry, he has worked in wineries all over the world - from his home 2007 Saint-Chinian, L’Ivresse des Cîmes, 13.5° region of Champagne (where he grew up on a mixed farm) to Bottle £9.95 Case £113.43 Code FAL307 Germany, California and New Zealand. He then took out a large loan, and in 1996 bought 20 hectares of north-facing vineyards Deep purple. Attractive autumnal aromas - hedgerow fruits and in the Languedoc, some of which had been abandoned by the herbs. A wine just à point between youth and maturity, with previous owner, and shunned by neighbours. He added a tiny plenty of vigorous damson and briary fruit but also exhibiting cellar in nearby Creissan in 2001. On his limestone-crested subtle hints of smoke, dried fruit and even tea. So well-textured, slope, it’s tough labour. But Yves saw the potential of site and with a decent backing of fi rm but ripe tannins. Southern fruit the old vines and is making splendid, fairly priced wines. but classic structure, and fi ne wine by any standards. Now-2014

9 Corbières and Limoux

Corbières and Limoux are both large appellations spread across hilly and mountainous land, the former best known for reds and the latter for Chardonnay and sparkling wine.

Domaine du Grand Arc, Cucugnan 2010 Corbières Rouge, En Sol Majeure, 14.5° Bottle £14.50 Case £165.30 Code DGA410 Bruno Schenk’s vines are on classic argilo-calcaire soils, with some sandstone, in the wild hills between Cucugnan 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah, all in barrel, 50% new. and Padern, surrounded by amazing hill-top Cathar This hedonistic wine is marked by extravagant aromas castles. It’s surprisingly cool here in these vineyards - and fl avours. Luxuriant black fruit, blackcurrants and Bruno was told when he arrived from Alsace that the land blueberries, is lent depth by glossy vanilla and a fl eeting was only good for white and rosé - and this gives great note of tar. Full bodied and powerful, this is not for the fi nesse and freshness to all the wines. Like Yves Falmet faint-hearted. Now-2017 he prefers minimal chemical treatments to extensive organic spraying, but he stops all spraying in mid-July, Domaine Begude, Limoux and makes wine with natural yeasts and without using James Kinglake, ex City banker, has now been any sulphur at all until bottling - so he qualifi es as ensconced on at the Domaine La Begude, about a “natural” winemaker. He attributes the amazingly 350 metres up in the foothills of the Pyrenees near deep colours of his rosé and reds to this practice. Limoux, since 2003; and his wines have been getting While vintages inevitably move on, we are better and better as he and his team get to grips with delighted to have more of the spectacular 2009 the terroir here. He inherited organically farmed Cuvée des Quarante to offer. land, and continues to promote organic practice. He has carved out an enviable reputation for his Chardonnays: the example below is enlivened by 2011 Corbières Blanc, Veillée the addition of 10% Chenin Blanc. d’Equinoxe, 13.5° We have just a little 2010 Pinot Noir left (from Bottle £9.25 Case £105.45 Code DGA611 plantings of four top Burgundy and Champagne clones), a wine of great levity, purity and fi nesse, 55% Grenache Blanc, 30% Roussanne and 15% and only 12° of alcohol. Maccabeu. A fl oral, herbal scent is followed by a beautifully textured, fragrant palate of ripe citrus, white peach and pear. Elegant and persistent. 2010 Chardonnay, Amélie, Now-2014 IGP Pays d’Oc, 12.5° [Screw-cap] Bottle £8.25 Case £94.05 Code BEG110 2010 Corbières Rosé, Bright and clear. Tangerine nose with a hint of white fl owers. La Tour Fabienne, 14° Crisply green-fruited, apple and lime, but also nicely rounded. (The 10% of Chenin Blanc brings a little weight). Drink this year Bottle £8.75 Case £99.75 Code DGA510 35% Grenache, 25% Mourvèdre, 15% of each of Syrah and 2010 Pinot Noir, IGP Haute Vallée de l’Aude, 12° Carignan and 10% Cinsault. Startlingly vivid raspberry colour. [Screw-cap] Bright fl avours of red cherries and redcurrants. Real density but Bottle £9.95 Case £113.43 Code BEG610 splendid crispness too. Intensely fl avoured. Very correct dry fi nish, which makes it perfect for food. Grilled or barbecued The contents of a single barrel went into the tank - less than 5% prawns or strongly fl avoured fi sh or chicken all come to mind. of the blend - but this may have just given a deeper colour and a Drink this year. fuller palate. Smells like a good Burgundy should, with strawberry and cherry aromas. Delicious soft red fruit palate. Lies somewhere between Burgundy and New Zealand in style - such fun. “Oo la 2010 Corbières Rouge, Reserve Grand Arc, 14° la, this is a mighty fi ne French Pinot Noir that’s from nowhere near Bottle £9.50 Case £108.30 Code DGA210 Burgundy, but the Languedoc, in fact. Capturing all the sassy, sappy juiciness we love from Pinot Noir, this has rhubarb and raspberry About 55% Carignan, with 30% Grenache and 15 % Mourvèdre, all wrapped up in a fresh acidity. A truly lovely wine. 91/100”, aged in old barrels. Despite the youthful tone, this is attractively www.thewinegang.com, August 2011. Now-2013 Limited stock mature with the oak thoroughly integrated. A fl eshy, well- textured mid palate of hedgerow fruits. Medium bodied with good depth and balance. Now-2014

2009 Corbières Rouge, Cuvée des Quarante, 14.5° Bottle £10.95 Case £124.83 Code DGA309 Based on 45% Carignan with 35% Grenache and 20% Syrah, all in barrel, about 20% new. Dense and brooding on the nose but the palate opens out dramatically, displaying black cherries, spice and liquorice. Real old vine concentration, but also smooth and beautifully mannered: Bruno talks of “grande fi nesse et grande souplesse”. Splendid and developing so well. Now-2015

10 Roussillon

Roussillon - a hot, dry, largely mountainous and windswept environment - is the source of unusual whites, distinctive reds (often marked by a mildly tarry, roasted note) and that Roussillon speciality, the fortifi ed Vin Doux Naturel. Vins Doux Naturels are made by stopping the fermentation of very ripe grapes, part way through its course, by the addition of alcohol (a process known as mutage); thereby preventing the yeasts from working, and leaving a fortifi ed wine with plentiful natural grape sugar and anywhere between 15 and 17 degrees of alcohol. These wines come in different colours and styles; and from diverse regions. Rivesaltes VDNs are named after the town near Perpignan, but can be made over a relatively large area, either eponymously from Muscat or a wide range of other white grapes such as Grenache Blanc and Malvoisie. Banyuls shares the same vineyard area as Collioure: if fortifi ed the appellation wines are called Banyuls, if not, then Collioure.

Domaine Depeyre, Cases-de-Pène 2010 Vin de Pays des Côtes Serge Depeyre, from a Rhône wine-making family, and Catalanes,Rouge, 14° Brigitte Bile, from Cases de Pène, met at wine-making college Bottle £8.25 Case £94.05 Code FON410 in Avignon. Together they returned to her birthplace, and worked at Mas Amiel, while starting the purchase of their Pierre Fontaneil could label this wine, from Syrah and own vineyards in 1997, and producing their fi rst wine in Grenache, with the prestigious Côtes du Roussillon 2002. Serge’s day job is working as Régisseur, effectively Villages appellation on the label; but as this wine estate manager and overseer in charge of Clos des Fées comes from his young vines he chooses instead to (one of the most highly rated and hugely expensive label it simply as a Vin de Pays! Ripe red fruit and Roussillon estates) at Vingrau, and their own little chocolate nose. Concentrated yet supple, well domaine has grown to 12 hectares, largely looked balanced and charming, all black cherry and a after by Brigitte. Hearing them, one senses how hard pinch of spice. Now-2014 it is to be a grower among these arid, wind-blasted hills: they need a pick-axe in order to plant a vine; 2009 Côtes du Roussillon Rouge, 14° they plough using a mule; and yields are ludicrously low. We offer their Côtes de Roussillon Villages, 50% Bottle £9.95 Case £113.43 Code FON109 Syrah, 25% old vine Carignan from Vingrau and 25% From about 60% Grenache, 25% Syrah and 15% Grenache. Wholly unoaked. Carignan grown on schist near Maury. Aromas of black cherries with dark chocolate touches. 2009 Côtes du Roussillon Lively, plum and black cherry favours,. Good Villages Rouge, 14.5° ripe tannins. Appears slightly (and attractively) roasted and toasty, despite being unoaked. Bottle £11.75 Case £133.95 Code DEP109 Now-2014 Youthful, opaque deep purple. Scents of rich cooked black plums, with spice, dried fruit and 2009 Muscat de Rivesaltes, candied peel. Velvet texture, so impressive. Sharp black fruit spiked by suggestions of menthol, tar and L’Age de Pierre, 15.5° liquorice. Excellent weight, and with well-judged Bottle £13.75 Case £156.75 Code FON809 tannins, this is a classic Roussillon blend; and one which will last well too. Now-2015 Entirely from the superior Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains. Pale lemon. Such a voluptuous scent: hothouse lilies and sun-warmed grapes. Intense, bitter sweet fl avours, Domaine Fontanel, Tautavel redolent of marmalade, lychee and pineapple, concentrated and The charming Pierre & Marie-Claude Fontaneil oversee a viscuous. Superb example. Now-2013 domaine of 35 hectares, family-owned since 1864, and have been stalwarts of our lists since 2003. From their consistently 1999 Rivesaltes Ambré, 16.5° reliable range we offer the complex dry white, a terrifi c value red Vin de Pays, the sturdy but unoaked red Côtes de Roussillon, Bottle £14.95 Case £170.43 Code FON999 and two Vins Doux Naturels; the charming Muscat de Rivesaltes From late-picked, 60 year-old vines of Grenache Blanc and along with the unique and hugely popular Ambré. Gris. The Ambré - literally amber - tone develops after at least fi ve years of mildly oxidative ageing in barrel, though this had 2010 Côtes du Roussillon Blanc, 14° nearly ten. It’s a remarkable wine which has built up a cult following among our customers. Deep golden-brown - this Bottle £11.95 Case £136.23 Code FON710 looks like old Cognac, and indeed smells quite like Cognac, From old vines of Grenache Blanc, Roussanne and Malvoisie, with fumes of cooked plums, and a hint of sherry-like oxidation. planted together in 1908, well-oaked: and always a splendidly Dates and toffee dominate, with accompanying subtleties, mineral and interesting wine. As ever, a lovely honeyed, stone- including walnuts and coffee: mysteriously delicious. “The fruited nose with a fennel hint. Textured and creamy with notes of product of another raid on some of the world’s stocks of mature honey, ripe peach and apricot. Long and well structured. “But if I sweet wine - in Roussillon this time. Heady and raisiny yet were drinking white with Christmas dinner, I would go for more fresh. Caramel and rancio fl avours. It would be great with power: try Domaine Fontanel Blanc 2010, Côtes du Roussillon. bitter chocolate. Miraculously fresh, racy and dry on the fi nish. From vines more than a century old, this is big, rich, almost Quite a bargain considering its age and interest value.” Jancis oily, yet with nice minerality and acidity too”, Andrew Neather, Robinson MW, Financial Times, Saturday, December 17th, Evening Standard on December 15th, 2011. Now-2014 2011. Now-2015

11 Domaine du Traginer, Banyuls Jean-François Deu, multi-lingual Catalan (he speaks French, Spanish, Catalan, English and Portuguese), and committed eco-winemaker, does not do anything by halves. He began making wine at the age of sixteen. His land is ploughed by a mule (Traginer translates as “mule worker”), he tends his vines bio-dynamically (i.e. ultra-organic, working by phases of the moon), crafts miniscule yields - 17-25 hl./ha. across his range, and bottles with minimal sulphur. Jean-François is a Banyuls specialist, having inherited ancient foudres of old Banyuls from his father.

2006 Banyuls Rimage, 17° Bottle (50cl.): £17.95 Case (12 x 50cl. bottles) £204.63 Code TRG706 Rimage refers simply to a vintage wine made in closed vats (i.e. not in an oxidative style): this is made in tank and bottled early to preserve the aromas and freshness of the delicious, raspberry- scented Grenache. Banyuls can accompany chocolate puddings, rather as berried fruit may be dipped in chocolate. Solid ruby tone. Sweet but pure, with soft tannins and a fine silkiness in the mouth. Now-2013

2006 Banyuls Blanc, 16.5° Bottle (50cl.): £20.75 Code TRG206 From Grenache Blanc and Gris and Muscat à Petits Grains, unoaked and aromatic. Fresh Muscat on the attack, but behind lie depths of very sweet pears, stone fruit, cream and vanilla. Irony power too. Very long. A wine to sip, with definite meditative quality! Now-2013 Very limited stock

For orders and all enquiries, please contact:

Simon Taylor: [email protected] Gordon Coates: [email protected] François Dupont: [email protected] Camilla Sellars: [email protected] Phil Hughes: [email protected]

Telephone: 01962 712351 Fax: 01962 717545 Email: [email protected] Website: www.stonevine.co.uk

No. 13 Humphrey Farms, Hazeley Road, Twyford, Winchester, SO21 1QA

Opening times: Weekdays: 9.00am-6.00pm Saturdays: 9.30am-4.00pm

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